"Blithe Spirit"

"Presently he would wheel around and stare in another direction,

pointing his ears forward to listen to some faint far sound

which had touched his senses."

~ William Henry Hudson

This quotation and painting completely depict what Ben was like when I rode him today over at the Martin's arena. Being in a totally new surrounding, he was full of adrenaline and every little sound and movement set him off. Krista has an Arabian mare that was up in her paddock, but Ben was barely able to see her while we were in the arena. At times he saw glimpses of her and would stop dead in his tracks and stare in her direction. It was like the two horses were speaking to each other and they stood frozen with their eyes locked on each other. I had to ride really hard to and keep him constantly turning and trying new things to distract him from wanting to look in her direction. Considering all the new surroundings and not usually riding in an open field, I was pretty happy with our ride today. It's always nice to ride a horse that is full of energy as opposed to one that won't get off your aides. Cantering was a challenge though, since Ben had definitely too much energy for that. At times I felt as though he would have jumped right out of the arena if I would have let him. By the end of the 45 minutes even though he was huffing and sweaty, he didn't act tired at all. I walked him up through the pasture so he could get a closer look at the mare and that made him feel much more comfortable. I'll have to be sure to talk with Karen and hopefully we can ride together one day so our horses can officially meet each other and then Ben might not be so excited when we go to ride there. That would be fun for the both of us!